Charles james grist



110.749.053. V PATBNTED JAN.5,1904.

I G. JLGRIST'." GOLF BALL, am.

APPLIoJlIoN FILED SEPT. 1a,`19os.

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UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GOLF-BALL, ac.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,053, dated January5, 1904. Application filed September 19, 1903. Serial No. 1731895. (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES JAMES GRIsT, consulting engineer, a subjectof the King of Great Britain, residing at Apsley, Banstea'd, in thecounty of Surrey, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements. in the Manufacture of Golf-Balls and Balls for Like Uses,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the improved manufacture of balls for use inthe game of golf or the like and is designed to produce a golfballpossessing the requisite qualities of lightness, elasticity, andresilience, so that it may be driven well and truly and yet possesssufcient toughness and strength to resist hard wear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of theapplication, Figure 1 shows a partly external view and partly sectionalview of a ball. Fig. 2 is an external view of the core of such animproved ball, and Fig. '3 is a detail view piece of the indiarubbertape.

lor, indicates the solid core, b the india-rubber tape, and c theexternal shell or cover.

In carrying out my invention I take linseed or other drying oil and heatit up to at least 400 Fahrenheit, adding litharge or other suitabledrying agent, taking care that it does not boil continuously for morethan six hours at any one time, the whole ofwhich time the oil is keptcontinuously in motion by suitable apparatus. I then take a broussubstancesuch as hemp, jute, cotton, suitable animal ber, or other broussubstance suitable for the purpose-and subject the bers to a cleaningprocess, such as carding. The bers now are spread and subjected to adrying process, such as by means of heated air propelled or drawnthrough them, in order to remove as much as possible any trace ofaqueous moisture. The oil having regained its normal temperature, I takethe bers which have been treated as above described andimmerse them insuch oil, immediately removingthem and placing themin a hydro extractoror other suitable machine for the purpose of extracting as much aspossible all the superfluous oil, which is then drained away and may beused again. The bers will now be found to have small globules ofpartially-oxidized oil adhering at intervals on each ber. These coatedbers being now in a somewhat matted condition from the previoustreatment are pulled apart and thoroughly loosened by the aid ofsuitable opening mechanism, such as a carding-machine. Then the bers arespread loosely on Wire gauze or netting and a current 0f heated air ismade to pass through them by means of a fan or other suitable machine,and in order that all the globules of oil in the bers may be broughtinto contact with the heated air as much as possible the bers must beturned or redistributed in the nettingv about every hour. By these meansnearly every globule of oil adhering to the bers is thoroughly oxidizedand dried. When this is accomplished, I take the bers and redip in theoil, and when taken out of the hydro extractor it will be found thatmore globules of oil are adhering to the bers in the vacant spaces inbetween the former and already-oxidizedparticles. I repeat the dryingprocess. A third and last time I dip the bers and proceed as before. Ind that it is not expedient to dip more than three times, becausemost'of the bers being covered With globules of oxidized oil, shouldanother dip take place the unoxidized oil might coat and spread on theoxidized oil, and if this happens the drying process cannot be thorough,as the heated air would not be able to play upon the whole of theunoxidized oil, and, oxidation being imperfectly accomplished, theresulting material would be worthless. The bers are now placed inVmasticating or grinding rolls lof dierent diameters, running at a highspeed and worked till they assume a homogeneous condition. Whenthoroughly crushed, I place the material in mixing-rolls and add from veper cent. to ten per cent. of powdered sulfur. Care must be taken thatthe material does not become too highly heated, and this may beprevented by continually stripping the material off the rolls by meansof a knife or gage adapted fr the Y purpose. When the sulfur isthoroughly mixed with `the material, the material is taken out andplaced in an inclosed vessel, and this vessel is heated up to about 360Fahrenheit, preferably by means of a vessel steam-jacketed all over. Thematerial is then laid on trays,avoid ing any heaping up ofthe mattersthat will in- IOO terfere with uniform access of the heat thereto. Whenthe material has assumed a porous or dry consistency, it is taken outand again placed in the mixing-rolls and ten per cent. toseventy-five'per cent. of gutta-percha or rubber or other suitablesubstance, to impart to the material greater cohesion, tenacity, andresiliency, or a mixture of such materials, can be added. Whenthoroughly mixed, the material is placed in suitable molds to be pressedinto rod or other convenient shape or be passed through a squirting-machine of the ordinary pattern for the same purpose. It can then be cutinto pieces which are heated to soften them, and these pieces While in asoft state are placed in suitably-sized molds adapted for balls of anydesired pattern and pressed into shape. These balls are then allowed tobecome thoroughly hardened and afterward painted with any suitablepaint, if required. Alternatively these balls are made with a hollowcenter by adopting the following process, say, for golfballs: I make asmall hollow ball of the described material and of a diameter of, say,about one and one-eighth inches,using acupshaped mold, the hollowportion of which receives suflcient material for the production with theaid of correspondingly shaped plunger of about three-fourths of an inchdiameter of a cup or half-ball. The material when heated or softened isthen placed in the mold and the plunger being pressed centrally in apress a half-hollow ball will be made. Two of these halves can be unitedfirmly together to make one hollow ball by means of heating the edgesand pressing them firmly together or by means of a suitable adhesivematerial. The hollow ball so made is then allowed to get cold and hard.The ordinary golf-ball mold is now brought into use and some more of thematerial is heated or softened and is divided into two equal or nearlyequal portions, one being placed in each half of the mold. The hardhollow ball is now placed in the center between these two portions ofsoft material, and care should be taken that no moisture is present. Themold can then be placed in the press and the finished ball be pressedout and allowed to cool and harden, the whole forming one mass of likematerial with a hollow center, as the interior, cold, and hard hollowball will resist the pressure and the superuous soft material will beexuded from the mold.

I sometimes make the balls (say golf-balls) by molding a hard solid ballof the aforesaid material (or any other suitable hard materi'al) ofabout three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and then this solidcentral-ball core is covered with rubber tape or thin sheetrubberstretched over it until the size is increased to about one and one-eightinches and this inserted centrally, as before described, in the outercover.

The small central ball must be made of a hard and comparatively lightmaterial, such as described, in order that when the finished ball is hitthe rubber ball or wrapping inside will be compressed upon it and notinto it, and by this means the full resilient energy of the blow will beutilized in the drive. In a ball so constructed I embody a compressedhard core of prescribed composition larger and harder than theindia-rubber elastic core referred to, and I use a thin vulcanizedindiarubber-tape winding which has been vulcanized to the pointrequisite to enable it to retain its elasticity even after it has beenwound upon the hard core in a condition of considerable tension.

A noticeable feature of my improved construction is the limitedthickness of the vulcanized india-rubber-tape winding upon the enlargedhard core and Within a substantial cover of the prescribed material.

When my improved ball is hit by the club, the outer cover will becompressed, and this compression will be conveyed to the rubber tape;but the core resists the compression and presents a fairly large surfaceof resistance. Now the extra distance that a filled ball will carry incomparison to a solid ball is caused by the sharp recovery aftercompression by the wound filling of india-rubber, and in my improvedball this recovery is very quick because of such larger and harder core.

When the ball strikes the ground, the recovery of form will tend to makethe ball shoot forward and not upward. The result of this reaction isthat the energy of the resilient rubber in my improved ball is utilizedto its fullest extent for the purpose of the stroke, and the movement ofthe ball is found to be more under the strikers control and this,especially for putting, is a great consideration.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is- A golf-ball comprising a spherical core formed offibrous material, oxidized oil, a drying agent, sulfur and rubbertreated and compounded in the manner and substantially in theproportions herein described, a wrapping of vulcanized rubber tape Woundabout said ball, and an outer shell or cover molded about the tape orWrapping.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CHARLES JAMES GRIST. Witnesses:

RICHARD ELY, ANDREW C. KNOELLER.

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